NFL

Matt Ryan Has This “Game Winning TD” Thing Down (Video)

It’s a good day for Atlanta Falcons fans.

As Thursday night football kicked back into swing for the 2010 NFL season, the Dirty Birds picked up the W in last night’s match-up with the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Down by one with a shade under 30 seconds left, Matt Ryan did what he has done several times in his career: engineer a dramatic last minute comeback.

Ryan took the snap with 27 seconds to go and found his favorite receiver, Roddy White, open on the out. White crossed the goal line with just about 20 seconds left on the clock, and the Falcons would go on to win. The video:

Of course, given my Boston College roots, I’m obliged to remind you that Matt Ryan has done this many times before. There was the epic come back in the fourth quarter in Blacksburg (on a Thursday night as well!) where Ryan brought the then-ranked #2 Eagles back from 10-0 to secure a 14-10 win over Virginia Tech:

And then again, a last minute touchdown brought BC back from the brink later in the season in Clemson’s Death Valley, also clinching the first ever ACC Championship Game appearance for the Eagles:

There are others with less video (Ryan’s gutsy performance off the bench in a rainy 2005 game against Wake Forest comes to mind), but I have a feeling that Matty Ice will continue to offer more highlight clips for seasons to come. The other good news? The 7-2 Falcons have a game up on the New Orleans Saints in addition to a head-to-head game in hand for the NFC South title.

photo via